


Poison of Selflessness

by toreelyn



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter parker poisoned, Precious Peter Parker, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, Worried May Parker (Spider-Man), poisoned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-10-28 00:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17777279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toreelyn/pseuds/toreelyn
Summary: May Parker is important to him. His aunt is the most important thing in Peter Parker's life, so you can bet that when her life is threatened, he will do almost anything to keep her safe. But when it comes down to his life or her life, how far will Peter go to save her? Then again, how far will May go to save her nephew?ORPeter gets a mysterious call forcing him to make a choice. Things don't exactly go his way and he ends up paying for it with his life.*I'm so sorry about this summary... it's not my best, but the story is good!





	1. The Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I originally intended for this to be a one-shot, but it had other plans. I really like the idea for this story, I just am not exactly sure where I am going with it. I really hope you enjoy it and don't get too upset with me. Enjoy chapter one!

"And I honestly don't understand why he is always willing to pick up my shifts", May says, as she places another bite of food in her mouth, "Weird, right?". Peter and May are out eating--you guessed it--larb. May has the night off and she wants to spend some time with her nephew. 

"You really have no clue why he could be acting so nice to you?" Peter always finds it hilarious how his aunt seems so oblivious about why men are frequently so sweet to her. She has to be playing dumb.

May swallows, "Nada".

"It should be pretty obvious by now", Peter says under his breath. May's eyes dart to his face.

"Excuse me?" she says.

"What? Nothing. I, um-", Peter stumbles over his words. As if on cue, his phone rings in his pocket.

May places her finger to her ear, "Loud and proud, kid".

Peter pulls his phone out of his pocket quickly, "Hang on, I've got a call". He quickly accepts the call. "Hello?". May glares at him playfully.

"Peter Parker, don't say anything, just listen closely", a deep voice on the other line says. Peter obeys, but begins looking around the restaurant. "Don't do that. Act completely natural and don't communicate with anyone in anyway". Peter looks down at his food. "I am sitting somewhere outside of the restaurant, with a gun pointed through one of the windows directly at your aunt". Peter's pulse speeds up, his senses going haywire as he tries to feel out this man. "I will kill her, unless you drink the extra glass of water that the waiter brings to your table".

"What?" Peter asks confused.

"I told you not to speak", the man snaps. "Just drink it, or this bullet will introduce itself to your aunt's head faster than you can say mmm-bop. Now, tell me that you are not interested and hang up".

"Um, thanks, but I'm not interested", Peter says as calmly as he can before hanging up the call.

"Who was that?" May asks.

"Uh, just some guy trying to sell me something".

"Sweetie, I told you to call that number to get rid of telemarketers", May says.

Suddenly, a waiter--not their original waiter--comes up to the table and places a small glass of water next to Peter and then another one beside May, "Just some extra water to hold you over". Peter tries to observe the man without being too obvious.

"Oh, thank you", May says, smiling at the man.

Peter looks around nervously, and stares at his new glass and swallows hard. "Uh, May can you excuse me, I need to call Ned to make sure that I did the right part of our homework project. It just came to me".

"Yeah, but hurry back. I wanna try this new dessert on the menu", she says excitedly.

He smiles at her, before getting up and walking to the waiting part of the restaurant. He tries to call the strange man's number, but it's an unknown number. As if it reads his mind, his phone rings. He quickly answers it. The voice speaks before he can say anything.

"Did I not make myself clear? You drink that water, or your pretty aunt gets a bullet".

"Why are you doing this?" Peter asks.

"Seeing the position you are in, you really are in no place to be asking questions".

"But what did you do to the water?".

"There is poison in it", the man says plainly. Peter relaxes a little bit. His body could burn through most poisons with no problem with how fast his metabolism is.

"It's a special kind of poison", the man states as if reading his mind. "Specifically made for your superhuman abilities, Spider-Man".

Peter's breath hitches in his throat, "W-what?". How does this man know that?

"Don't play dumb with me. We know who you are".

"Listen, I don't know what you want. I don't know how you know who I am, but please just leave May out of this. I'll do whatever you want", Peter is beginning to panic.

"Take a look at your aunt", the man says. Peter looks over at her and sees a mark on her head. "See that nice bright red mark, that is where the bullet will lodge itself, unless you go over and drink that water".

"You don't have to do this", Peter is trying to buy time. He needs to keep this call going long enough for it to be tracked.

"My finger is feeling a bit twitchy".

"Please, wait-" Peter tries to reason with the man.

"You know what you have to do. I have made my intentions quite clear. If you don't drink that water within the next 60 seconds, I won't hesitate to blow her brains out". The line goes dead.

Peter looks down at his phone, before slowly turning back to their table. He wants to call someone, but this guys seems serious and it isn't worth him losing his only family. He silently prays that someone will notice that something is up, but it's not looking to hopeful. He makes his decision. He walks back over to the table and sits down.

"Is everything okay?" May asks.

No, everything is not okay. Nothing is okay, but he can't tell her that, so he nods, "Yeah".

He looks at the glass of water. What will the poison do to him? How long will it take to achieve its purpose?

"Hey, May", Peter says, looking at her.

"What?" she says. He wants to cry, trying not to be distracted by the red mark that has reappeared on her forehead.

"I just want to say thanks for all you do", he smiles at her, "I don't think I've told you enough".

May seems a bit taken aback, "You don't have to thank me, kiddo", she says. "Being your aunt has been the scariest, most wonderful thing I've done".

He laughs, "I bet". He doesn't know how much longer they will wait, so he casually picks up the small glass of poisoned water, puts it to his lips, and downs it. He sets the glass down, waiting to feel something, but he feels fine.

"Whoa, thirsty much?" May asks, a bit amused.

At first, Peter doesn't feel anything. He doesn't know how long it will be until he feels the affects of the poison. He just hopes it's quick. His heart is pounding as he sits rigid in his chair staring at the glass that held his fate.

"Peter", May says, trying to get his attention.

"What?" Peter looks to his aunt quickly. "Uh, sorry. I just-".

"Is everything okay?" she asks, feeling a bit concerned about his sudden change in behavior.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine", he smiles at her, even though he really doesn't know if he will be fine.

"You sure?" she wants to confirm. "You're acting all weird".

Suddenly, it hits him as his vision begins blurring. He hasn't had anything wrong with his eyesight since he was bit.

"What am I saying? You're always weird", May jokes, but her voice sounds muffled. Peter squints his eyes trying to focus on her. He shakes his head to try to rid himself of the blurriness. It doesn't work.

He can hear May saying his name, trying to get his attention. Suddenly he gets a painful tickle at the back of his throat and he coughs. One light cough eventually turns into continuous hard coughs. He can hear the concern in his aunt's voice increase as he finally is able to suppress the coughs. He looks down at his hand and notices a dark red substance. His spider sense buzzes as he realizes that he is in real danger. It's so strong that it's making his head ache, or is that the poison?

"Peter!".

He looks up and sees his concerned aunt, worry flooding her brown eyes. Suddenly, there are three of her and his head starts spinning. He doesn't say anything, but just looks at her wanting to comfort her. He hates worrying her.

"I'm fine", he says quietly, knowing that he hasn't convinced his aunt that that is the truth. Not even a second later, his chest feels like it has combusted into flames. "I don't know what is happening", panic is beginning to take over. He tries to stand from his chair, but falls to the ground. He tries to stay up on his knees, but his body has other plans as he falls onto his side. He lets out a weak, wet cough and feels warm liquid fall from the side of his mouth. He can't move, all of his limbs are too heavy. Somehow he gets onto his back--with help. He just stares up at the ceiling, feeling his body submitting to the poison that is taking over his insides. He hears his name, but where is it coming from?

"Peter please!".

Where is that voice coming from? He feels are warmth on his face. All he can focus on is the increasing buzzing in his head.

"Peter! Look at me!".

He forces his tired eyes to follow the sound, and finds May. It's May.  
"May?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's me, honey", she pulls her eyes away from her nephew and calls out. "Someone dial 911!". She puts all of her attention back down onto him. She notices the blood running down the side of his mouth and grabs a napkin from the table. She gently wipes it away. She doesn't know if she does it out of instinct, or because she can't stand to see blood on her kid's face.

"May, it's okay", Peter says, trying to calm his aunt.

"You're damn right it's okay", May says. "What's going on, Peter?".

"I had to", is all he says.

"You had to what?" she asks, wanting more information, but she doesn't get an answer, "Come on. Stay with me, Peter. What did you have to do?".

Peter's vision starts to swim even more as nausea and the burning in his chest blend all together. He begins coughing again, blood filling his mouth now.

"Peter!" May shouts as she realizes that this is only getting worse. "Kid, you've got to talk to me. Stay with me". She runs her hand down his hair.

Peter swallows the blood that didn't run over his lips. "May", Peter says, reaching to find her hand, tears forming in his eyes that are still looking at her.

"I'm right here", she grasps his searching hand. Peter only grabs onto her hands when he is nervous or scared. She doesn't want him to be scared, she squeezes his hand tighter. Peter coughs again, but it's weaker. He doesn't have the strength. His eyes roll back slightly.

"Sweetie, help is on the way", she assures him, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "You know Ben will kick your ass out of heaven if you show up earlier than expected".

Suddenly guilt floods throughout his body. Ben. Ben was his fault, and now he is going to leave her too. She'll be all alone and it is his fault. That's when a tear makes its way out of his eye.

"I'm sorry, May", Peter chokes out.

May hushes him, "Stop. You have done nothing wrong".

He persists, gripping her hand as tightly as his weakening muscles will let him, "I'm sorry about Ben".

"No", she says, running her hand through his hair, "No Peter, that wasn't your fault".

Peter is pulled from his toxic thinking of what happened to his uncle when he is unable to pull in another breath. He gasps for air. He can't breathe. He looks up at his aunt with wide eyes.

May notices that he isn't able to breathe, "No, Peter. You're okay. I need you to breathe for me, sweetie". He's struggling, his chest heaving up and down and his throat working reflexively. Seconds pass, and May slowly dies. 

He's trying so hard, and he wishes she knew that. He wants her to know that he is fighting for her, but his world is getting fuzzier by the minute. Tears fall from his eyes.

"Where is the ambulance?" May screams before looking back down at her nephew who's lips are turning blue. "Oh God, Peter". She cups his face in her hands, "Breathe. You can do this!".

He doesn't take his eyes off of hers as black spots begin to flood his vision. This is really it. This is how he's going to die. He's not going out fighting, but lying on the floor of a restaurant with his aunt begging him to fight. He continues to attempt to pull in any oxygen, but it's no use. He's losing. He can still see his aunt through the black spots, but he can no longer hear her. The last thing he can feel before he sinks into the darkness are May's tears falling on his cheek.

*****

May looks down at her unconscious nephew. "Peter" she says with a warning tone in her voice. "Peter!" she calls louder. She shakes his limp body, but she gets no response. Panic seizes her. She leans more over the teenager, checking for a pulse. It's there, but barely. He definitely isn't breathing anymore. "Peter!" she yells. She places her hands on his chest to start compressions, but then remembers that that is not what he needs. His heart is still beating, all he needs is rescue breaths. She quickly breathes two breaths into Peter's mouth. "Peter!" she calls again, "Peter, don't do this! Do do this to me!". The front doors to the restaurant burst open , but May doesn't even try to see if the paramedics finally arrived. Her whole world is in front of her--and it's falling apart.

May is still screaming at Peter to answer her--to wake up--anything. She is pulled away from his limp form as the paramedics surround them. A nice man in the restaurant holds her back as she continues to fight to crawl back to her nephew's side. She hears them saying a whole bunch of stuff to one another, most of it not making any sense to May. 

"He's not breathing. We need to intubate him now".

Those words kill May as she realizes that they are going to forcefully shove a plastic tube down her teen's throat. She attempts, once again, to get to Peter, but the man restraining her is too strong.

She begins sobbing as they pull a long tube out of their bag, another paramedic holding his mouth open, and they begin sliding the tube down into his windpipe. It looks so uncomfortable, but she knows he can't feel it--at least that is what she hopes. She knows that they are doing what they need to to save Peter, but she just wants to tell them to stop touching her nephew. 

She continues to watch as they get a neck brace on him and get him onto the gurney. She follows them out to the ambulance and tries to get into the back before one of the medics stop her. 

"Ma'am, we are going to have to ask you to stop there".

"Look guy, that's my kid! I'm not leaving his side, so let me in!" May snaps, trying to get in again.

"Ma'am, for policy reasons and the safety of the patient, we cannot let you in", the man is persistent.

May sighs, running her hands through her hair, not bothering to adjust her skewed glasses. "Please, I can't leave him. He needs me. I need to be there in case he gets scared". The medic sits and looks at her with sad eyes. "Please, is there anyway I can come along?".

The medic is silent for another moment before answering. "Okay, but you have to ride in the front".

"Thank you so much!" she says, before running to the front of the ambulance. The driver opens the door for her and she climbs in. Turning back to see her nephew.

"Ma'am, please put your seat belt on", the driver says.

May doesn't rip her gaze from Peter as she does what she is asked.

"We're good to go!" one of the paramedics says to the driver as they finish getting Peter secure, but May is not ready for what is next.

"We lost his pulse! We need to get the defib".

"What?" May shrieks, "You mean, his heart has stopped?".

"Ma'am, you need to stay calm and let us do our jobs", a medic says calmly.

"You need to get his heart restarted now!" May fights back.

"Ma'am, we are doing the best we can, but if you don't calm down, we will pull over and ask you to get off".

May wants to keep talking back, but she knows how lucky she is that they are even letting her ride with them in the first place, so she bites her tongue.

One of the paramedics yell, "Clear", and May realizes that they have already hooked Peter up to the defibrillator. She watches her kid arch up, like a rag doll. He drops back down to the gurney. The medics look down at some tiny monitor and repeat the process. May can literally feel the crash of Peter falling back down as if it were happening to her as well. Her heart pounds in her chest as the reality of what is happening begins to sink in.

"Charging 300", the paramedic says. May looks at Peter--really looks at him. 'Come on, you can do this, Peter'. She fixes an intense gaze on him. 'Come on, one more time. Parkers don't quit'.

"Clear", the medic calls again. This time, the shock pulls Peter even further of the gurney, but when he lands again there is a tiny regular beep. The paramedics start rattling off more stats to each other.

"That's right, sweetie", May says quietly to Peter, reaching back and placing her hand on his forehead and stroking his hair. "That's good. Just hang in there for me". She doesn't even to bother to wipe away the tears that are streaming down her face.

It feels like forever, but it was probably only minutes when the ambulance comes to a stop. The back doors fly open. "What have we got?" a guy in scrubs asks. He and the nurse with him take the back end of Peter's gurney and guide it down and out of the ambulance as the paramedics slide out with him, saying a bunch of numbers that mean nothing to May. 

She jumps out of the front and catches up to Peter and runs along side his gurney as they wheel him into the emergency room, while gripping his cold hand, pleading with her nephew to hold on.

Once they get to the emergency room doors, a nurse appears and puts a hand out to May to stop her. She once again, forces herself to let go of Peter and let them do their job. As she watches them disappear behind the doors with her only nephew, she feels totally cut off. She has no choice but to watch them take him away, and just stand there as Peter's deathly pale for is carted off to the ER. How long she has been standing there, staring after them, she has no clue. At some point somebody--she isn't sure who--begs her to sit down before she collapses, so she stumbles over to the closest chair to her and crumbles into it like a rag doll. She tries to think of what she should do next. She can't think of anything until it comes to her.

She needs to call Tony Stark.


	2. He Was Just Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have gotten awesome comments on the first chapter of this story! It has really inspired me to get this chapter to y'all as soon as I could! I hope you guys enjoy, although... it may not be what you want... <3

He feels nothing. 

He can hear voices around him, but he can't feel anything. The last thing he actually felt was a sharp jolt shoot throughout his body, but now it is just numbness. He wills himself to open his eyes to take in his surroundings, but nothing in his body will listen to him. Is he even breathing on his own? It's been years since his senses haven't worked. They normally help him figure out what's going on, but he is in the dark--literally.

Suddenly, a voice begins to push it's way through his muddled surroundings.

"Good", is all he is able to hear. The voice is calming, it gives him comfort to hear it. "Just hang in...for me". It's May! His aunt is there. He doesn't care where he is anymore. It's enough to know that May is there and she is okay, and with that thought, he slips back into the black.

*****

Time passes. People come and go, other waiting families talk around May, and she doesn't even hear it. She jumps ever time an approaching ER doctor comes into sight, but each passes by her to other families. May then seeks out nurses, anyone she can find, begging for any information on Peter. None of them will say or can find anything except he is still being examined, so May returns to her seat, anxious eyes snagging on the wall clock ticking mercilessly slow.

Suddenly she hears a familiar voice. Stark has arrived.

*****

Tony immediately gets into the Iron Man suit when he hears May Parker sobbing on the phone. He doesn't have time to get in one of his cars and deal with the traffic. Although he can't understand half of what the distressed woman is saying, he knows something has happened to Peter and that he is not doing well. Through all of May's rambling and tears, he hears the words "Coughing", "blood", and "not breathing". 

He has a deadline for when the compound needs his new shipment by, but this kid takes precedence over all of that. Peter's become his responsibility since he dragged him to Germany. May made him swear to her that he would do everything in his power to keep her nephew safe when she found out that Peter was actually Spider-Man--which she ripped Tony a new one for.

He gets to the hospital in Queens within minutes and lands with a crash in the ER parking lot. He doesn't quit moving as his suit pulls back off of his body and into a simple bracelet. He barges into the waiting room and straight to the reception desk.

"Peter Parker. Where is he?".

The receptionist looks completely taken aback by his bluntness. Suddenly, he hears May's voice.

"Stark".

Tony turns to her and she places a hand on his shoulder. Her long, dark hair is pulled back into a messy bun and her eyes are red and swollen. Although, there are tears behind her dark eyes, she won't let one fall. She's staying tough.

"Peter. Have you heard anything? What's going on? What happened?" he begins to bombard her with questions.

"It was awful, Stark", she starts, "One minute we were enjoying dinner together and the next thing I know, he's on the floor coughing up blood, and-", she stops as she begins to let those stubborn tears fall. She covers her eyes, "He stopped breathing", she looks up at Tony. "He couldn't breathe. It's like he suffocated".

Tony doesn't even know how to respond. He just places a gentle hand on her upper arm and tells her that it will be okay. That's all he can do, but the truth is, he doesn't know if Peter will be okay. He wasn't there. He doesn't know how bad it all really is. He watches as May wipes away her tears and tries to pull herself together. He has so much respect for this woman. She is tough--being the aunt of Spider-Man and a teenager all at once.

"I'm gonna go see if I can get some information", Tony tells her.

"All they told me is that he is in the operating room. They won't tell me anything else", she informs him.

"Yeah, but I'm Iron Man", Tony says, winking at her. He turns to the reception desk and begins talking very seriously to the receptionist. May doesn't know what he's saying, but the woman calls someone up to speak with him. May assumes it is the head supervisor. Within minutes, Tony is walking to the entrance to the ER and is buzzed in. She hopes that Tony will get to the bottom of things and return to tell her what she wants to hear.

*****

It doesn't even feel like a minute after hearing May's soothing voice, that he comes back to consciousness. It's noisier than it was before, and the sound of his aunt is gone. He listens for it, but he knows her voice, and it's not there. There are more people, but something else is different. The numbness--it's gone. He can feel pain burning inside his entire being, but he doesn't have the strength to communicate or even look aware. He feels something hard in his throat and it's breathing for him. He begins to panic. Somehow--after what seems like forever--he manages to get his eyes to open to a slit. His eyelids feel so heavy, he doesn't know how long he's going to be able to keep them open, even that much. He tries harder. Although his neck and throat forbid it, he begins to slowly turn his head. The force in his throat refuses to budge to make this task more bearable, so he barely moves, but he can see a big window. Someone is standing there. Is that- it can't be.

It's Mr. Stark.

He tries to reach out to him to let him know that he can see him, but it all hurts too much. He loses as his eyes close again and the dark takes over him once more.

*****

Tony walks back into the emergency room. Lucky for him, he can watch what's going on with the teenager through a large window. He is lead to the window and sees Peter lying on the table, unconscious. He's plugged into all sorts of machines as the doctors and nurses continue to work on him.

The kid is so pale. There is literally no color in his face, except for the red stain around his mouth, which Tony assumes is from the blood he coughed up. They have a tube shoved down his throat and a nurse is pumping air through it to help him breathe. What happened? What went wrong? Is this some freak thing that his powers have caused, or did someone target him? He just wants Peter to wake up and tell him.

As if someone hears is thoughts, Peter opens his eyes. If you weren't looking closely, you wouldn't be able to tell, but his eyes are open.

Tony leans closer to the window hoping that the kid will do something else. His eyes dart to the heart monitor attached to Peter as his heart rate begins to race. He's panicking. 

'No, kid. Don't do that' Tony thinks. 'You're fine. You better be fine, or Aunt Hottie will kill me'.

Tony wants nothing more than to go in there and calm him down. His heart skips a beat when he sees Peter slowly working to turn his head in his direction. He makes eye contact with him and holds it for a bitter-sweet moment. His eyes burn into Peter's, trying to connect with the kid as much as he can with just a look. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices one of Peter's fingers struggling to lift it's self off the bed. Tony knows that he is trying to communicate with him, so he just places his hand on the window in return. And as quickly as Peter came to consciousness he goes out again.

Tony has been so busy worrying about Peter that it has completely slipped his mind how Peter is superhuman and needs special medical attention--if he ever did need medical attention. He quickly pulls out his phone and dials Bruce Banner. The phone rings about twice before he gets an answer.

"Banner", Bruce says on the other line.

"Yeah, it's Stark. Listen, something happened to the kid. He's in the hospital. I need you and Helen Cho to get down here and transport him to the compound", Tony informs him.

"What happened, Tony?" Bruce asks concerned. They have all developed a huge soft spot for Peter.

"No one knows. It's a complete mystery", Tony says with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, frustrated that he doesn't have an answer. He hates not knowing.

"Where's his aunt?".

"She was with him when it happened", Tony says. He's beginning to feel impatient with the chit chat. "I'll fill you in later, but Peter needs to be out of here ASAP".

"Alright, we're already on it", Bruce says.

"Thanks, big guy", Tony says and hangs up. He sees an older woman, with graying brown hair approaching him. She is dressed in scrubs.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Bloom. I've been working with this young man", she turns towards the window, hinting at Peter. "What is your relationship to the patient?".

"I'm Tony Stark. He's my kid", he quickly dismisses it. "How is he? What caused this?".

"We aren't sure yet. Something has caused his windpipe to swell and he has a lot of internal bleeding. We've got him intubated and are pumping oxygen into his lungs, but we can't find the source of the bleeding. We are trying to prep him for surgery, but we need to make sure he is stable enough first".

"But you don't have the slightest idea what caused it?" Tony asks.

"We are doing our best to find out, Mr. Stark", she answers.

"But you haven't got any ideas?".

"No".

"Good to know", Tony begins to walk away. "I have my own personal medical team coming to take the kid. They'll be able to figure it out".

Dr. Bloom rushes beside him, "Mr. Stark, I assure you we will get to the bottom of the problem".

Tony stops and turns to her, "Don't take it personally. I just want this kid in the right hands for his situation".

"But-", Dr. Bloom is at a loss for words.

"Thanks for understanding". Tony starts walking away again, but this time, the doctor doesn't try to follow him.

*****

May is sitting in the waiting room. She is not at any kind of ease though. She is sitting at the edge of the seat, her back stiff and straight. Her leg hasn't quit bouncing for the past 30 minutes and her hands are raw from how much she's been ringing them.

So many thoughts are rushing through her head. How could this happen? This morning Peter caught the bus and went to school like a normal kid. He came home, very happy that he found a perfectly good karaoke machine in a dumpster on the way home. He sat in his room and picked it apart to salvage parts for other projects and then he went to dinner with May. It was such a good day--and now he's dying.

May squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block the images from the restaurant out of her mind.

Suddenly, Tony bursts out of the ER doors. She stands quickly.

"What is happening? How is he?" she asks desperately.

"They have no idea what is causing this, but I have Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho on the way to take him to the Avengers compound. They are more familiar with his superhuman abilities", he says. He notices that that isn't news she wants to hear. "He opened his eyes", he adds gently. 

May's eyes dart up to his, hope filling them, "He did?".

"Yeah", Tony nods, taking a seat, "He looked at me".

May slumps into the chair beside the billionaire and lets out a sigh.

They both are more relaxed then they have been since Peter got to the hospital--but it is short lived.

Dr. Bloom comes to the doors and all it takes is a look from her for Tony to jump up and dart past her into the ER, not letting anyone stop him. He can hear May calling out for him, confused. She must have not noticed the doctor's grim expression. He's seen that look enough to know, that it's a terrible sign. He rushes back to the room Peter is in and notices that the nurses are putting away the paddles that should be shocking a heart back to life as another nurse, begins to pull the sheet over Peter's face.

Tony rushes into the room. "What are you doing?" he shouts. "You're not done yet! Keep trying!".

"Mr. Stark!" Dr. Bloom has followed him into the room. "Mr. Stark! You need to leave!".

"What the hell happened?" Tony turns on the small woman. "He was fine not even five minutes ago! He looked at me!". He grips his hair in his hands. "What happened?" his voice cracks.

"His heart gave out", she says quietly.

"How hard did you try? Did you do everything?".

"Mr. Stark, we did all we could do. We couldn't do anymore without damaging his organs", she says. "I'm sorry".

"God", he says holding back tears, looking at Peter lying so still on the table. "There is a very distraught aunt out there. What am I supposed to tell her?".

"Tell her that he put up a good fight", the doctor says.

Tony shakes his head, going to to Peter's body and running a rough hand through his curls. He takes in the teen's features. The waves on his head that would be so messy after he would finish a fight--feeling completely exhilarated at the fact that he kicked ass so well. The slight lines around his mouth and next to his eyes, from all the times he would smile or laugh--even if it was a nervous laugh. His one imperfect eyebrow, where one part of it grows in a different direction. He takes a deep breath, knowing he has to hold it together and eventually turns away and goes to address May. 

As he's walking to the waiting room, Banner and Cho rush by, feeling numb, he doesn't acknowledge them.

"Stark? How's the kid?" Banner asks. Tony doesn't answer as he keeps walking, expressionless. Bruce has a feeling about what has taken place, but he still rushes to find Peter.

Tony walks out of the doors, once again. May rushes up to him. "What happened?" she asks, her eyes widening as she notices the change in his emotional state.

"May, uh". How is he supposed to tell her?

"What?" she asks, not wanting to show any fear. Tony just looks at her. "Stark?" she's beginning to understand. She wishes she could deny her emotions of her worst fear coming true, but it's radiating off of the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry", is all Tony says, the words catching in his throat.

"No", is all May says. "No, Stark. Don't tell me that bullshit!" she punches him in the arm.

"He fought to the end", Tony says, trying to ease her growing pain, but he already knew that it wouldn't be a successful attempt.

"No. Don't-don't fuck around with me". She punches him again. Tony doesn't say anything. She stands there, her eyes burning into Tony's, a hard expression on her face. Tony knows that she is trying really hard to not break. "No". Her stern look begins to crack as the pain overwhelms her. "No!" she screams, as she lets out a heart-wrenching sob. "He can't be! Not Peter!" she bends over holding onto her chest, trying to breathe. She lets out another sob. Tony wraps his arms around her as she falls to her knees. 

She doesn't care if she's making a scene. She's lost her nephew. Her kid. The only person she has left is gone, and she didn't get to say goodbye--again. Tony knows this. All he can do is hold her while she cries and mourns.

As much as he hates it, Tony lets a small tear fall from his eye, "I'm so sorry, May".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn....
> 
> Don't hate me! You guys are the best!
> 
> Update: I promise you guys, the next chapter is coming. Between being super busy and having a writers block, it’s just taking a bit longer this time, but IT IS COMING—hopefully within the next two weeks! I’m so sorry! Please don’t give up on me!! ♥️♥️♥️


	3. Don't Give Up On Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am soooo sorry that this has taken so long! Life gets busy and I am easily distracted, but I am going to finish this story! It's crazy, because originally I had intended for this to just be a one-shot, then I realized that wasn't going to work, so I settled for two chapters, and now it's three and there will be a fourth! I hope that's it. Nothing ever goes according to plan!  
> Anyway, thanks for all the patience and I hope you enjoy it!

Just from looking at the tears welling up in Tony's eyes, people would assume that that is all he can physically feel.

They are wrong. He feels everything.

That's all he feels. He feels the pain. He feels enraged. He feels inferior. Pathetic. Paralyzed. Defeated. He couldn't do anything to save Peter. He stood around, helpless, while his kid died.

But for May--the only thing she feels, is broken.

She feels broken. She feels it with every fiber of her being, every hair on her head, every muscle in her body. With every beat of her barely-beating heart. But she also feels the love for Peter, every memory they had, the devotion, the protectiveness. She would think that that's what makes it hurt so much, but it hurts too much to even think. Thinking of nothing leads to think about everything, and her everything is gone.

Her agonizing sobs have now turned into pitiful whimpers. She wishes she could still cry out, her body is still so full of emotion, but she is physically unable to let it out.

Although May doesn't notice, Tony hears a bunch of hustle and bustle behind the entrance to the emergency room. He turns just in time to see Dr. Cho and a few people--which Tony can only assume is staff from the compounds medical team--burst through the doors pushing a gurney. Tony is extremely confused. He looks on the bed to see Peter hooked up to oxygen and the works. All he can do is stare as they rush by him and out of the hospital. Bruce follows closely behind them. Tony gentle lets go of May and stands.

"Banner, what's going on?" he steps up to the doctor.

"We got his heart beating again", Bruce says breathlessly. "We are getting him to the compound".

May jumps up, tears still raining from her eyes, "What do you mean?".

Bruce turns to her, "We have Peter's heart beating again, but we need to get him to the compound right now".

"How?" May asks.

"We'll explain later", Bruce assures her.

"Take May with you and I'll meet you there", Tony demands.

Bruce nods and guides May out the front doors.

 

*****

 

Once they all get back to the compound, Peter is rushed into the MedBay immediately. Tony and May wait impatiently in one of the bedrooms. Tony is pacing back and forth with his arms crossed, not being able to keep himself still long enough to relax. May has quit crying, but she looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. Tony doesn't know if she is just tired of crying or if she's feeling hopeful. She has no expression, all she's been doing is staring straight ahead at the wall--her eyes could burn a hole through the wall with the intensity of her stare.

Suddenly, there is a light knock at the door. May quickly whips her head in the direction of the sound. That's the most movement Tony's seen from the little woman in the past 30 minutes.

Bruce quietly steps into the room. Tony briskly walks over to address him as May stands, wringing her hands.

"What happened, Banner? How did you bring him back?" Tony asks, having waited very impatiently to know.

"Well, as you know, the body doesn't completely shut down once the heart stops. It takes several minutes for the rest of the systems to completely stop".

Tony cuts him off, "But after the body has been without a heart beat for a certain amount of time, they aren't able to be brought back. He was-", he can't bring himself to finish the statement. "His heart stopped, Bruce, for several minutes".

"Yes, it did", Bruce confirms, trying to get to his point, "But Peter isn't an ordinary human. Even though his heart wasn't beating, certain parts of his body were still working--including his powers".

Mays ears perk up at that. She knows her nephew is super-human. She's accepted that, but that doesn't mean she completely understands it all.

"His healing factor was still running", Tony finishes for the doctor as it all dawns on him.

Bruce points at him, indicating that his assumption is correct. "So we injected him with a serum that we have formulated for Cap and it was able to boost his healing factor just enough to get his heart beating again".

"So, I'm sorry, but I'm still new to all of this", May interjects, "Is my nephew immortal or something? Can he die or does his body just keep healing itself after death?".

"No", Bruce answers. "No, that is why we had to rush him here. Something is harming him. We have some ideas, but we don't want to get too set on anything or rule anything out".

"Could this have something to do with his powers?" Tony asks.

"Like I said, I don't want to rule anything out, but I'm almost positive that it has nothing to do with his super human abilities--seeing as they saved his life", Bruce says.

"Banner, at least tell me what the most likely cause is", Tony asks, desperation sneaking into his voice. Bruce looks over to May cautiously.

"Hey, that's my kid. I want to know everything you know", she says sternly to the scientist. Bruce looks over to Tony to confirm.

Tony waves his hand towards May, "You heard the woman".

"Okay", Bruce says, "We think he's been poisoned".

"Poisoned?" May says, her dark eyes widening.

"How?" Tony questions. "His metabolism can burn through most poisons".

"We think this poison was manufactured just for him with his powers in mind", Bruce says.

"So someone targeted him?" Tony is in shock. Why would someone want to hurt Peter? How did they find out who he was? Was it because of him?

"Why would someone want to poison him?" May turns on Tony. "Stark, why would someone want to hurt him? He's just a kid!".

"I know", is all the billionaire can say. He's shocked and livid all at once and his words aren't forming.

The woman points an accusing finger at him. "You better fix this, Stark", she says, her voice shaking. "You need to fix this".

"Once we can figure out what is poisoning him, we can administer the antidote. Until then, we can keep him as stable as possible", Bruce assures her. "I'm going to go check to see if they've found out anything else". He leaves the room.

By this point May has started to cry again. She puts her hands to her temples, hiding her face. Tony turns back to her and places both of his hands on her shoulders.

"May, I will find who did this. I will find them and they will be dealt with", he tries to catch her eyes. She finally looks up at him. At first, her eyes are cold, but they quickly melt to sadness and hurt as more tears flood her eyes. She wraps her arms around Tony and cries into his chest. This simple gesture reminds him so much of Peter and how he's just a kid that still needs comfort. He always feels bad for how hard he is on the teenager. He so busy trying to teach him responsibility and how to be a superhero that he often forgets that he is not even an adult yet. He tightly wraps his arms around May and holds her, remembering that she only sees Peter as a kid--her kid. His mind floods with guilt as he realizes that he has been selfish with Peter and has expected so much from him when all he wanted to do was go to school, hang out with friends, and save people. He will find out who did this, and they will wish they hadn't messed with this kid.

 

*****

 

"Now, I must warn you, he is not awake yet. We don't know when he will be conscious. Also, he is on a ventilator due to the swelling of his windpipe", Bruce informs them. "Feel free to talk to him, because he may be able to hear you". May and Tony nod in understanding. They don't care what they see, as long as they see Peter alive and breathing.

The second they walk into the room, their minds change.

The person in the bed is Peter--he looks like Peter, but it doesn't seem like Peter. He's such a strong kid. This kid is pale, he is still, something so unusual for the young, energetic teenager. Every machine in the compound must be hooked up to Peter. His chest rises and falls with a forced regularity, and their are constant hums and beeps from the machines around him.

May places one of her hands over her mouth, her eyes arched in obvious despair. She pulls the nearby chair over and sits down slowly. She bows her head and gently takes Peter's hand, "It's okay, Peter. I'm here. I'm here", she coos softly, gently fiddling with one of his curls.

Tony doesn't know what to do, all he knows is that he's feeling angry. He's filling with rage that urges him to do something, to fix what is happening.

Eventually, May raises her head back up, wiping at her eyes briefly as she looks at her nephew. "Who would do this, Stark?" she asks, needing to know. "Why Peter? He's never heart anyone". She speaks softly, yet her voice sounds deafening in the stillness of the room.

Tony walks up behind her and places a hand on her shoulder, "I don't know who did this May, but I won't stop until I find them and the antidote".

The small woman stands up and turns to Tony. "Go get some rest and then find them", she says even more quietly, before turning back to Peter. "I need some time with my nephew".

 

*****

 

A few hours have passed since Tony left the room, but he hasn't gotten any rest at all. He sits in his lab at the compound and searches and searches for any possible suspects. He looks over at the clock. 7:00. How is it already so late? He then realizes how sore his eyes are from staring at screens. He needs a break. He figures he'll go check on the kid.

Once he gets to the room, he sees May sleeping with her head on Peter's bed, still holding his hand. He gently wakes her. She jumps to alertness, instinctively positioning herself protectively over her nephew.

"Whoa there, hey, it's just me", Tony says, trying to calm her. May begins to relax. "Listen, you need some rest".

"There is no way I am going home without Peter", May says sternly.

"I wouldn't expect you too", Tony grins. "Pepper is outside waiting for you. She's going to take you to one of the guest rooms and you can rest there. Everything you need should be in there".

"But-" she says looking back at Peter.

"I promise that he's safe. I will personally let you know if anything happens, but you need to rest", he assures the tired lady.

"You better, Stark", she points her finger in his face. He once again confirms and Pepper comes to her and gently guides her towards the living quarters.

Tony takes May's place in the chair. Bruce comes in. "Anything new?" Tony asks.

"Negative", Bruce answers. "Tony, I just want to warn you that when Peter wakes up, he will be freaked out. His senses will immediately alert him that something is wrong and the ventilator will be a scary experience. You just need to try to keep him calm".

Tony nods in understanding, "When do you think he'll wake up?".

"Probably not anytime soon. We are trying to keep him out and comfortable".

Unfortunately, the timing wasn't what they were hoping for.

 

*****

 

Peter blinks sluggishly as he fights into awareness. It is a strange sensation at first, but he eventually comes around to a bright room and is extremely disappointed to find his senses going haywire. Something isn't right. He is trying to focus when something horrible happens--his lungs expand without his control. Almost as quickly, the air flies out of them. He tries to recover when it happens again. He tries to call out, but nothing happens. Not a moan, not a whimper. Nothing. Something is choking him, but he can't even gag against it. This has to be what drowning feels like. It's terrifying. Tears form in his tired eyes. What has he done to deserve this? All he wants is for it to stop.

 

*****

 

Tony jerks awake in the chair, immediately scolding himself for letting himself fall asleep. He looks at Peter and is shocked at what he sees. Peter is awake. He starts to smile, but then he notices the distressed look in the kid's eyes and remembers what Bruce told him. Peter is groggily reaching for the respirator, trying to pull it from his throat.

"Pete", Tony says urgently, leaning over him, taking both of Peter's wrists in his hands. Although Peter is weak, it's still a fight getting control of his hands. The kid is so damn strong.

"Peter", he says again, getting into the teenager's line of vision. "It's okay. Don't fight it". But Peter doesn't relax, so he tries again. "Kid, listen to me. You're okay. Open your eyes, kid". Finally he does as he's told and Tony smiles at him reassuringly. "Hey, hi", Tony says quickly. "It's okay. You're in the MedBay. You're on a machine to help you breathe. Don't fight it".

Peter's eyes squeeze shut again as his chest rises sharply, then falls. He nods, grimacing as the movement shifts the tube in his throat. He opens his eyes again and finds his mentor.

"You all with me now?" Tony asks after a moment. Peter doesn't make any motion this time, but Tony senses a yes from him and lets go of his wrists.

Bruce comes bustling though the door. "Peter" he says happily.

"He's not okay with this", Tony informs him, gesturing to the respirator.

"I'm sure", Bruce replies with genuine sympathy. "We're going to give you something in a moment", he says to Peter. "You woke up a lot sooner than we expected, but your windpipe is swollen and we can't take you off the ventilator yet". Bruce pulls some liquid into a syringe. "Obviously it's not comfortable to be intubated, so we are going to give you something to help you sleep. We've formulated it according to your metabolism, so hopefully it will do the job", he goes to reach for Peter's IV when the kid stops him. Bruce looks surprised, but waits.

"Kid", Tony says, "You need to rest. Now is not the time to be difficult".

Peter gestures as if he's writing something in the air. Tony catches on.

"Do you have a paper and pen?" Tony asks Bruce.

"Uh", Bruce pulls out a notepad and pen, "Yeah". He hands it to Tony.

Peter takes it and begins to write something, obviously frustrated at his hands being hooked up to the things, making writing a difficult task. He shows Tony the paper.

_Poison_ , it reads.

"We figured that much, kid", Tony says, "Do you know who did it? Blink twice for yes and three times for no".

Peter blinks three times, but begins to write again. After a moment he shows his mentor.

_Last call_.

"Last call on your phone?" Tony confirms. Peter blinks twice. "Pete, do you know why someone would do this?".

Peter begins writing again and then reveals the message.

_Me or May_.

Tony reads that and looks up at the kid. Sadness and fear fill Peter's eyes. Someone threatened to hurt May if Peter didn't comply. The kid knew he could die. He knew exactly what was happening. Tony blinks away tears before the kid can see.

"You're a good kid, Pete", Tony says. "We're going to clean this up. You'll be good as new. You're aunt is fine. She's just getting some rest. She fought me to make her go".

Peter slowly holds out a hand to Tony. He is taken aback for a moment, but then reaches out and clasps the kid's hand, surprised at the strength in the teen's grip.

Suddenly the teen picks up the pen again and writes one more thing down.

_Don't tell May_.

"Okay, kid", Tony says with a small smile, "I promise. I'll keep more of your secrets".

Peter's eyes smile as he holds the billionaire's stare, reaching for his hand again. He looks at his mentor, desperately trying to convey a multitude of thanks without words. He worries for a moment that Tony won't be able to understand what he is trying to express, but then he sees the corners of Tony's mouth turn up and Peter feels him squeeze his hand.

"Okay, Banner", Tony says, indicating that he can go ahead and administer the drug. He keeps his eyes locked with Peter's. Once Bruce empties the syringe, Peter's eyes slowly start drifting shut, and Tony feels himself begin to relax as the pain finally eases itself out of the kid's features. It isn't until about a good ten minutes later that Tony finally lets go of Peter's hand.

 

*****

 

"Wait, Peter woke up?" Pepper asks Tony, once he's back in the lab.

"He did", he confirms, "He also told me something and I hoping it will help me locate the asshole that did this".

Tony has Peter's phone in his hand and begins to look through it. He goes to his recent calls and finds an unknown number. He taps it and sees that the call last 32 seconds. "The kid's a damn genius".

"What?" Pepper asks, confused.

"He was able to keep the caller on the phone long enough for me to be able to track where the call was coming from". He rushes over to one of the many desks and pulls up a screen in front of his face. He begins moving things and pulling things up. Pepper comes over and stands beside him. Finally Tony pulls his hand into a victorious fist. "I got it!". He gets up to leave, but not before Pepper stops him.

"Where are you going?" she asks, standing in front of him.

"To go find the guy", he says, trying to rush past her. She places a firm hand on his chest.

"I don't think so. You are way too tired and emotional to be doing this. Send Rhodey. He can handle it". Tony tries to argue. "Peter and May need you here".

Tony knows that she is right, as she often is, and submits. "FRI", he says to is AI, "Give this address to Rhodey".

"I'm already on it, Boss", she answers.

"Happy?" Tony says to his fiance.

"Yes", she says, giving him a light kiss.

He turns and begins to walk away from her, "Anything for you, Ms. Potts", he says in a very sarcastic, Tony Stark kind of way before grabbing a drink and sitting down. Pepper walks over to him and sits beside him.

"So what did Peter have to say?".

"Well, he confirmed that it was poison", he says, taking a drink. Then he remembers something, causing his eyebrows to scrunch together.

"What is it?" Pepper asks, noticing his expression.

Tony just looks down at his glass, "He said that it was him or May". He shakes his head, "Someone put him in that position. Just a kid, and they-" Tony can't even finish as anger floods his body once again.

Pepper places her hand on his leg, "But he's not 'just a kid'. You know that, Tony".

"He made me promise not to tell his aunt", Tony says. Remembering one of the first conversations he had with Peter back in the kid's bedroom.

_"No, May cannot know about this. She'll freak out, and when she freaks out, I freak out"._

"Boss, there's been a problem", FRIDAY's voice cuts in.

"What? Has Rhodey left? Is he okay?" Tony asks, hoping that it was something minor.

"He's fine, Boss. There has been a security breach".

"What? Someone broke into the compound?" Tony asks, standing quickly.

"That is correct".

"What happened to security?" he asks.

"It is not clear yet", the AI answers.

"Remind me to fire them", he says.

"Got it".

"Have they been caught yet?".

"Not yet. From what I can see they have gotten into the MedBay".

Tony and Pepper both exchanged wide-eyed expressions.

"Peter", is all Tony says, before rushing out the door. Closely followed by Pepper. "FRIDAY, sound the alarm!". He runs up flights of stairs and gets to the MedBay, yelling at security as he passed them.

He finally gets to Peter's room and can't believe his eyes as panic sinks in. He pulls out one of his repulsors, aims, and shoots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is going on!? I am currently working on the last chapter, so just bear with me! I hope to have it up by next week! I will do my very best! Don't give up on me!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: toreelyn


	4. I Can't Lose You!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The finale! I hope you guys like it! Sorry, once again, that it took so freaking long, but the chapter is a lot longer than they usually are, so maybe that helps. Also, there is a street in this chapter, it is made up. I have no idea what streets are in Queens, NY.  
> Enjoy!

Chapter 4:

Peter is in a blissful slumber when, suddenly, he is awakened. He quickly comes to, and sees a strange man injecting something into his IV. Is that what woke him? Did this man give him a drug to pull him out of his coma? 

He looks around, hoping to see a familiar face, but the lights are dim and it's only this strange man. The man doesn't even acknowledge that he is awake as he continues to mess with things.

Peter sees him inject another dose of something into his IV. Something isn't right. What is this guy giving to him? He reaches over, smacking the man's arm, causing him to drop the empty syringe. The man just roughly throws Peter's hand away from him.

He then turns to the respirator machine and unplugs something and Peter notices that no air is being forced into his lungs. He panics as he realizes that the man cut off his oxygen. He's hear to kill him--to finish the job.

The attacker stoops over him, grabbing his hair and pulling it so his face is directly looking up at his. Peter doesn't want to give the man the satisfaction of his fear, but he can't hide it. He's going to die.

Peter hears a ruckus going on outside of his room and an alarm going off, but all he can focus on is the man standing over him. He smells like chemicals with a ski mask covering his face--his icy blue eyes, almost chillingly smiling down at him. The man reaches for the tube in his throat, but before he can pull it out, he is blasted across the room. 

Peter turns his head as much as he can to see where the blast came from, but the tube in his windpipe only lets him turn his head so much. 

"Peter?" a frantic voice calls to him. He knows that voice and he feels relieved. Mr. Stark stands over him. He calls out to the other people in the room. "Bruce, get that guy out of here and take him to the interrogation room".

Bruce walks over to the man, in pain, on the ground and pulls him to his feet. "Really, a ski mask? How original".

"Hey, why you gotta be so rough?" the man says, panting, still recovering from the blast. "You've got me, you don't have to be so angry".

"Oh trust me, guy", Bruce says in a low voice, "This isn't even me when I'm angry". He shoves the man to the security guards and they take the man away".

"Pete? Kid, can you hear me?" Tony says, noticing that Peter is conscious.

Peter looks at his mentor with panic in his eyes. His body is filling with pain again. What did they put in his IV. He can't communicate. He can't breath, all he can do is choke through the tube.

"Shit. Banner, they've disconnected the respirator!".

Before Bruce can even react, blood begins to seep out of Peter's nose and Tony notices blood pooling into Peter's mouth around the tube. Bruce notices.

"Get Helen Cho, now!" Bruce yells to some nurses. He immediately grabs a pump and places it onto Peter's tube and begins pumping.

"Bruce, what the hell is happening?" fear rising in Tony's voice.

"I don't know. We just need to keep him breathing".

Tony can't believe this is happening. He looks down at the kid. "It's alright, Pete. We're going to get this cleaned up in no time. You're fine".

Peter just looks up at Tony, trying to hide the extreme fear in his eyes. He reaches out to Tony until the billionaire finds his searching hand. Tony's heart breaks when he realizes how much the kid is trembling.

Suddenly, Peter's eyes roll back and he gets super rigid. "Peter? Hey kid, look at me", Tony says, grabbing the kid's face, trying to direct it back towards him. Right then, Helen Cho runs in.

"What's happening to him?" Tony turns to the doctors.

"He's seizing", Helen says, turning to a nurse and telling her different things to grab.

"Keep talking to him, Tony", Bruce says, continuing to pump air into Peter's lungs. "Chances are, he can still hear you".

Tony can only stare at the young hero. This seizure isn't like one he would expect. It's not like crazy convulsing and foaming of the mouth, but light occasionally convulsions, but he is mostly just stiff. Tony doesn't let go of his hand, even though the kid's grip has Tony's hand crushed.

"It's okay, Peter. Stay with us. You're aunt will kick my ass to Mars if you check out", Tony says, just wanting Peter to answer him. "Come on, kid", he tries again. "You're aunt will literally die without you, and then all of this will have been for nothing".

"Peter!".

Shit.

May tries to rush in. She is a hot mess. "What the fuck is going on?" she screams.

"Get her out of here!" Tony yells. 

"Peter!" she calls out to her nephew, as she watches in terror as her nephew convulses on the bed, blood falling from his nose and mouth.

"I said, get her out of here, now!" Tony yells again.

Pepper rushes over with some security and they pull the fighting woman out of the room.

Tony looks down at the ground, not believing any of this. He notices something beside Peter's bed. A syringe.

"Banner, Cho, I think the man poisoned him again", Tony tells them.

"What?" Cho asks, alarmed.

"There's a syringe on the ground", he informs them.

"That explains a lot", Bruce says. He then barks orders to a nurse and she leaves the room to retrieve whatever he asked for, right as the other nurse comes back with three syringes full of liquid.

Cho quickly injects them into Peter's IV. Tony continues to hold Peter's hand and talk to him quietly for several minutes before Peter's muscles begin to relax and the hand-breaking grip loosens on the billionaire's hand. Then right as the other nurse comes back with two more syringes, Cho injects them into the IV as well.

"What are you giving him?" Tony demands.

"The first three were to stop the seizure. The one I am giving him is to help reduce the speed and effect of the poison", Cho informs him.

Slowly, Peter's eyes begin to go back to normal. He looks exhausted as his eyes meet with Tony's again, his lids hardly staying open.

"You're okay", Tony says, relieved that the kid has quit seizing. He doesn't break the stare with Peter, as he clasps onto the kid's hand a little tighter. "I'm so sorry, kid", his voice cracks. "It won't happen again. I promise".

"This one is to make him sleep", Cho says, as she administers another drug.

"It's all okay. You can rest", Tony says to Peter. Peter's eyes slowly give in as the drug takes it's toll, a single tear falling from his eye.

*****

Tony walks out of the room shaking. Did that really just happen? Was that all caused because the security in the building isn't strong enough? He has to fix that. He has to. He almost had someone's blood on his hands. Peter's blood.

He doesn't want to be away from Peter. How can he after what he just witnessed? Oh, that's right. To go beat the shit out of his attacker.

The thing that pisses Tony off the most is that Peter could take that man, no problem. Almost as easy as fighting off a toddler, but Peter is weak. He is dying. The kid must feel more vulnerable than he has in years.

Everything in Tony is urging him to go back into the room and sit with the teenager, but the anger inside of him is stronger than anything else, so he storms to the interrogation and barges in, against everyone's pleas to not go in. When Tony walks into the room, he sees a man. The man is not very big--he's actually rather lanky--which is a good thing for Tony. He has a simple buzz cut with a matching goatee, and dark eyes. He seems to be favoring his left shoulder, where Tony's blast made the impact. The man looks up at him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Tony Stark himself coming in to talk to little old me", he says with a sneer. "Guess I struck a big nerve messing with your pet".

"If I were you, I'd zip it, pal. I am literally a hair away from blasting you to Hell", Tony says, staring the man down.

"Ah", the man says, seemingly satisfied with himself, "So we did hit where it hurts".

"What do you mean 'we'?".

The man seems confused by Tony's question, before realization takes over, "Oh, you think I did this alone?" he laughs. "No, there are more of us. Several more, actually".

"What is the motive here?" Tony asks. "Is it something I did? Because if it is, leave the kid out of this, and let's settle this right here, like men".

"No, Stark, it's nothing you did. It's what you are. It's what all of you are", the man answers.

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Tony snaps. "I don't have time for your shitty attempts at riddles".

The man sighs, rolling his eyes. "Well, you're no fun", he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "My friends and I were always ones for a good challenge and this is one of them?".

"What? Trying to kill kids?" Tony asks.

"No, he just happens to be a kid. We want to see how many super heroes", he puts air quotes on the world 'heroes', "we can take out". Tony has a shocked expression on his face, surprised at the man's stupidity. He can't even believe this guy. The man just sits there with a smug smile on his face.

"Are you guys really that pathetic?" Tony says. The man just shoots him a glare. "Why the kid first?".

"He's annoying", the man says, shrugging. "Always swinging around and not minding his own business".

"Yeah, punk. He's a teenager. That's his M.O.".

"Yeah, well not anymore".

Tony's gauntlet forms over his hand as Bruce walks in the door and notices. He stops Tony.

"Hey. Just calm down. We found something on this guy that could help us", he says quietly to his friend. Tony's gauntlet retracts. Bruce continues, now that Tony ceased fire. "We found this". He shows Tony a syringe, it's filled with a clear liquid. Tony takes it from him.

"So, how are you doing it?" Tony says, sitting down at the metal table, across from the man. "Hm? How are you planning on taking Peter out?".

He cocks his head at the billionaire, "Something tells me you already know the answer. You are a genius, right?".

"Poison, isn't it?" Tony asks, holding up the full syringe, looking at it. "Like this?". The man raises his eyebrows, not answering the question. "So it is".

"No", the man says, "That's not it".

"What? So you just carry a random syringe around? Are you diabetic? Is it insulin?" Tony sets it down on the table.

"Even if it was the poison, it still wouldn't be able to fix the damage that's been done", the man answers.

"That's not true", Bruce jumps into the conversation, "Once we know what's in the poison, we can formulate an antidote. Not difficult at all".

"Yeah, well it's not the poison, so you're shit out of luck", the man says, averting his eyes.

"Is that the response you're going with?" Tony asks, feeling done with this guys crap. The man doesn't react. Tony nods, "Okay", he stands up and approaches the man. He aggressively turns the man's chair to face him, reaches down and grabs the guys throat and places the syringe to his neck. Bruce calls out for Tony but he ignores the scientist.

The man looks at him with wide eyes. "What the fuck are you doing, man?".

"So if this isn't the poison, injecting it wouldn't kill you?" Tony says, staring at the man, satisfied with the terrified eyes that are staring back at him. The man tries to fight him off.

"Get off me!" the man shouts.

"If the poison is strong enough to kill a super human, imagine what it will do to some insignificant guy like you", Tony points out.

"Dude, it's not the poison! It won't hurt me", the guys says, still fighting.

"Then why are you panicking?". The man just glares at Tony and spits in his face. Rage fills Tony's eyes, although he keeps it together. "Fine", is all he says as he pokes the needle into the man's neck.

"Okay! Okay!" the man shouts. "It's the poison! Please, don't do it! Please!".

"Where are all of your pals hiding?" Tony questions.

"I can't tell you. They'll kill me!".

Tony jabs the needle further into the man's neck, "Yeah, so will this poison".

"Fine! They are in the blue house on the corner of east Spruce Avenue in Queens!".

Tony smirks at the guy before pulling the needle out and stepping back off of him. He holds the syringe out for Bruce. He takes it from him, handing him a tissue. Tony wipes the spit off of his face and then shakes his head and delivers a powerful punch to the mans cheek. "That's for spitting on me", he turns to walk out of the room after adding, "Disgusting schmuck".

*****

"What the hell, Stark?" a livid May Parker screams at him as he comes out of his office. He knows he's in trouble with this woman. "You said he was going to be alright. You PROMISED me that he would be safe! So what the hell happened?".

"I know, May. I'm sorry. I can assure you that we are working on a new security system", he tries to calm her.

"That didn't help him, did it, Stark? You learned how shitty your security is due to my nephew almost losing his life!".

"He's going to be fine", Tony tells her.

"That's what you said before!" she yells. "You told me you were going to fix this!".

"We have the antidote", he says calmly.

"Okay!" she says, before what he says actually processes. "Wait, what?".

"We got a sample of the poison and Bruce Banner just finished formulating the antidote. They are going to administer it to him now".

"Oh my God", she says, relief seeping through her voice.

"Come on", Tony places his arm around her shoulders and begins walking. "He'll want to see you when he wakes up".

*****

The air in Peter's medical room is thick. Tony is standing in the corner of the room, with his arms crossed, praying to whatever higher power there is that this works. May is sitting beside Peter's bed, holding his hand and Bruce is administering the antidote. Once he plunges all the liquid into Peter's IV, May speaks up.

"How long until we see if it works?".

"Hopefully not too long", Bruce answers. "I'm hoping to see improvements on the internal bleeding within an hour and I hope to be able to take him off the respirator that soon as well".

"But it's all a waiting game", Tony says. Bruce nods.

"Thank you, Dr. Banner. You've done so much", May says. Bruce offers her a sympathetic smile before he leaves the room.

Even though the antidote has started working, Peter doesn't look much better than he did lying unconscious on the diner floor. He's still looks so sallow and frail.

"Hey Peter", May's voice is shot, she doesn't try to hide it. The past 24 hours has been excruciating. She leans forward, intertwining her fingers with his stiff, cold fingers. Even if the doctor is right and Peter won't wake up for a little bit longer, May will happily watch the rise and fall of his breathing until then, because she has another chance with her nephew.

While they wait, Tony goes and gets himself and May a cup of strong coffee, seeing as how neither of them have gotten any rest.

An hour passes and they are getting restless. As if on cue, a grimace forms between the teenagers eyebrows. His eyelids then scrunch and May squeezes her nephew's fingers. Tony walks over to the bed.

"All the way, kiddo. Come on, you can do it". His aunt's encouragement seems to do the trick. Peter's slowly opens his eyes. they are dazed and fatigued, but alert, and they settle instantly on May, the spark of recognition filling his eyes.

"I'm going to get Bruce", Tony says, before leaving the room.

"Hey, sweetie, can you hear me?" May says softly.

Peter barely nods, due to this damn tube in his throat.

Banner and Tony walk back in, accompanied by Helen Cho "Hey Peter. How are you feeling?" Bruce addresses him.

Peter gestures towards his throat.

"I think he wants to breathe on his own now", Tony speaks for the kid.

"We can do that, but we still need to run some tests to make sure the bleeding has stopped. It will only take about 20 minutes", he informs them.

May nods. She leans over Peter, running her hands through his hair. "I'll be right here when you get back". As the doctors wheel his bed out of the room, he doesn't let go of her hand until she's out of reach, not taking his eyes off of her.

Tony slumps into a chair, finally feeling at peace.

May sits back down, "It worked", she sighs.

"Of course it worked", Tony says with a small smile. "Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho are some of the best doctors in the universe".

She smiles, but her expression soon changes to one of curiosity. "After the attacker broke in and Peter was-", she pauses, before going on, "I heard you say something to him for the short amount of time I was in here. What did you mean when you said that if he died, it would all be for nothing?".

Tony looks confused. "What?'.

"You said, 'If you die, it will kill your aunt and if she dies all of this will have been for nothing'. What did you mean?".

Tony realizes that she is putting the pieces together. "I was just telling him whatever he needed to hear to hold on".

May rolls her eyes, "Don't lie to me, Stark. I know that Peter makes you keep secrets. What really happened to make Peter drink the poison".

"I don't know what you want me to say. It was a mistake", Tony tries to brush it off.

"I know my nephew. He isn't stupid", she says, raising her eyebrows, "And neither am I".

He knows he won't be able to charm or play dumb his way out of this one. "May, I feel that you should hear it from him".

"But I am asking you", she says sternly.

Tony just sits there for a moment as May's hard stare doesn't avert. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his thighs.

"Peter was threatened. He was given an ultimatum". May's hard expression melts to one of confusion. Tony continues, "He got a phone call and the person on the phone told him that he had to drink a glass of water with poison in it or they were going to kill you".

She takes a deep breath, running her hands through her hair. "I remember him getting a phone call. It was weird. Then he left the table to call Ned--at least that's what he told me. Why did he do it? He could've stopped him".

"I don't know", Tony says quietly. "They must have really had him backed into a corner".

"He acted so weird when they brought the extra water over, but I didn't think it was strange at all". Tears start to fill her brown eyes, "He knew. He knew what he was doing--that it could kill him and he did it for me". Tony nods in confirmation. "Who would do this?".

Tony proceeds to tell her what the man told him during the interrogation. He assures her that all of them will be caught and dealt with. It isn't long after that that Peter is brought back into the room. No longer hooked up to the respirator, he smiles.

"Everything looks like it's healing up quickly. We want to keep him here for one more night just to make sure, but then, he is free to go home", Cho says with a smile.

"Thank you, Helen", Tony says. The doctor nods and exits the room, leaving the three of them alone. May sits down next to Peter's bed and grabs his hand. He squeezes her hand back.

"Hey, May", he says with a tired smile. May lays her head down and lets out a quiet sob. Peter squeezes her hand, concerned. "May, it's okay".

She looks up at him and places her hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb back and forth. "I thought I would never hear your voice again".

"But I'm right here, talking to you. I'm fine, May", he tells his worried aunt. "I promise".

"I know, baby", she pulls his hand up to her mouth and kisses his fingers.

He smiles at her before turning his attention to Tony, "Hey, Mr. Stark".

"Hey, kid. Nice of you to come back to the world of the living". Peter laughs. Tony puts all joking aside, "You really had us worried there, Pete. I was just about ready to kick your ass. I might still".

"Sorry, Mr. Stark", is all Peter can think of to say. "I never thought it would be poison that would get me".

"Not with those spidey-senses", Tony adds with a wink.

"Exactly", May says. "Which is why it wasn't an accident in the first place". She is staring hard at her nephew, who's eyes widen at her sudden change in softness. "You knew what you had done when you drank that glass of water". 

Peter's eyes shift over to Tony. His mentor just returns the wide eyed expression before it changes to an apologetic look. "She figured it out, kid".

"You bet your little ass that I did", the angry aunt says. "That being said, Stark, can you give me some time with Peter? We need to talk".

Tony nods, giving Peter a squeeze on his shoulder, stands up and heads towards his exit. Before he walks out the door, he turns to the teen and mouths "Sorry".

The door shuts and Peter still hasn't made eye contact with his aunt, but he can feel her staring him down.

"Why couldn't you just be honest with me, Peter? When has it ever been okay to keep secrets from each other?" she starts.

"Since keeping secrets keeps you safe", he says quietly.

"Uh-uh, that's not the way it works. That's not the way WE work and you know that". Peter doesn't say anything to that. He just changes the subject.

"Please don't blame Mr. Stark. He only did what I asked".

"That's not even an issue here, Peter", she runs her hands through her hair. "Why did you do it, Peter?" she asks bluntly. He shakes his head, subtly, not looking at her still. "Why would you do that?".

"They were going to kill you, May", he says, turning to her quickly with tears flooding his eyes. "They had a gun aimed at your head".

"So you call for help", she says.

"No May, I couldn't. Any wrong move and they wouldn't have hesitated", he tries to make her see his point.

"So you do it discretely".

Peter is feeling frustrated now, "No May! There was no way around it! Not even Spider-Man could have gotten around this!".

"Well, then you don't let them win!" she shouts. "I watched you die! Do you understand that? You were in front of me dying and I couldn't do anything to stop it!".

"I'm sorry, May! But-".

"I almost lost you! You know, I can't-".

"And I can't lose you!" Peter fights back. The threatening tears finally spilling over his lids. "I lost both of my parents, and after Ben-", he shakes his head, looking down. "I can't", his voice cracks. His fragile grip on his composure breaks, tears surging down his pale cheeks.

May's heart breaks as she remembers how much Peter has gone through--all the people he has lost. A part of her admits that he is right, she is all he has left. He needs her. She leans over the bed, trapping her nephew in her arms and holds onto him for dear life. A moment later, Peter goes limp against her torso and warm wetness soaks the shoulder of May's shirt, and finally, the anguished tension melts out of Peter's body and they can just be happy the other is there.

"You know I would do anything for you", May says. She feels Peter nod against her. "There is nothing in this world that I would put in front of you. You are all I have left, too".

"I know", Peter sniffles.

"Let's just let this go, alright? Stop feeling like the bad things that have happened in our lives are your fault, or that you should sacrifice yourself, or I'll kick your ass, and you know I can".

Peter lets out a small laugh. "The ass kicking will have to wait until I'm back to my full strength". May can hear the sass below her ear and she smiles, gently pulling back from her nephew to let him fall back into the pillows, running her fingers through his hair. "I don't regret it", she hears him say softly.

"I know, kid", she answers. "We're okay now". She doesn't know if this will be the last time one of their lives will be on the line, but for now, everything is okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I definitely have at least two more ideas for more stories, hopefully they will stay one-shots and not like this one, where it was supposed to be a one-shot and ended up being four chapters long! If you have any prompts, hit me up, and I'll do what I can! Thanks for the support and check out my other works for more whump!

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more soon!  
> Don't forget to check out my other works for all the whump!


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